April 6 2019

Spanish/Sierra Mackerel Catch and Cook | Costa Rica 2019

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Lauren Collins

Life in Costa Rica is in many ways similar to life on Cape Cod. Yet there are also many, many differences.

One BIG difference is that here in Costa Rica, it is very possible to catch a fish and then find yourself eating that same fish for lunch less than an hour later.

You can do the same thing on Cape Cod, but not during January and February! Fortunately the weather in Costa Rica is sunny and hot year-round.

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Back on Friday January 11th 2019, I was casually reading my book on Playa Zancudo beach at the leisurely hour of 11:30am. As you will see in this video I had the entire place all to myself - with the exception of the local dog, Rocky!

Ryan was fishing (big surprise I know) in the water in front of me when I heard him let out a sudden shriek of excitement. I turned to see Ryan hooked up with a fish. Luckily the fish stayed on the hook long enough to pull it up on the beach.

We would now be having fresh Spanish mackerel for lunch!

As part of the video we have included a little segment about filleting the mackerel, as well as a "cooking the catch" segment hosted by yours truly at the super simple kitchen in our little beach house.

Please click play below to watch! 

Responsive Video

Timestamps:

  • 0:36 - shot of the pink epoxy jig
  • 1:08 - fish on!
  • 3:10 - pulling the mackerel from the surf
  • 4:34 - bleeding the mackerel
  • 5:16 - filleting the mackerel
  • 8:00 - rinsing off the mackerel
  • 9:00 - walking back to the house
  • 9:50 - removing the skin
  • 11:00 - cooking in the kitchen
  • 13:10 - talking about ingredients - salt, butter, garlic, pot of beans, veggies, rice, salsa lisano, gallo pinto, tacos
  • 15:06 - plating the mackerel
  • 16:20 - eating the mackerel

Equipment and Tackle:

What do you think?

Let me know by commenting below.

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About the author 

Lauren Collins

Through the eyes of a fishermans' wife, I'm excited to share my cooking and photography with you here on MFCC. You can learn more about cooking, and get more recipes by visiting my website Creatively Delish.

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  • Hi Ryan,
    My son caught about a 7 pder down there 2 years ago and the Capt steaked it similar to swordfish. We only kept half for our family of four and it was plenty. The resort restaurant cooked it on the grill with a garlic/butter/spice sauce and I was surprised how good mackerel could be!

  • Great Video! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to be in Costa Rica (near the Jaco) area in the middle of May ’19. Do you have any suggestions of where to fish? what lures to bring? Any direction would be amazing!
    Cheers!

  • Great video! What a way to live! Rural spot,fresh fish……Sweeet! Great job cooking up the catch Lauren. The rice and beans look delicious too!

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